How to Create Meaningful Relationships

Relationships can either be nurturing or toxic. When you’re in a meaningful and nurturing relationship with a spouse, friend, or colleague, everyone benefits from the positivity and mutual support that’s created. On the other hand, when you’re in a toxic relationship, everyone involved feels drained, negative, defeated, and debilitated.

As the famous motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, once said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Think about it. You begin to emulate the people you spend time with – and that includes the good and the bad behaviors, and the positive and the negative emotions. With that said, here’s how to create more meaningful and nurturing relationships:

1. Connect with yourself first. The most important relationship you have is with yourself. You have to be a true friend to yourself first before you can attempt to be a friend to others.

2. Build trust with others. Spend your time with honest, dependable people, and learn to build your trust by being vulnerable with them. This is critical, because you cannot create meaningful relationships without trust.

3. Enhance your communication skills. Become a stronger communicator, either by reading books about communication or working with a coach. This will enable you to connect with others in a meaningful way.

4. Be genuine. You can’t create truly strong and lasting relationships if you’re not being yourself. Be genuine in all of your interactions. Understand that as you become more honest about who you are, people will respond more favorably.

5. Accept people as they are. Don’t try to change the people in your life, and don’t expect them to “improve” with time. Accept them exactly as they are, and your relationships will flourish.